Thank You For Being A Friend: 40 Years of The Golden Girls with writer Stan Zimmerman
Out on the Lanai: A Golden Girls Podcast
H Alan Scott, Kerri Doherty
4.5 • 605 Ratings
🗓️ 13 September 2025
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Picture it: September 1985. A new sitcom about four older women living together in Miami premieres, and television is changed forever. Forty years later, The Golden Girls is more beloved than ever. Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott is celebrating this landmark anniversary with a very special guest, Stan Zimmerman, who was in the writers' room during the iconic first season. Stan takes us back to the beginning, sharing stories about the magic of Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty, and why the show’s themes of love, friendship, and chosen family resonate so deeply four decades later. Grab a slice of cheesecake and join us on the lanai for this unforgettable conversation.
This episode was originally published to Newsweek's Parting Shot Podcast.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | 40 years ago, a groundbreaking sitcom debuted on NBC about four sassy seniors in their golden years |
| 0:17.6 | living their best lives. That show was called the Golden Girls, of course. |
| 0:23.3 | And it has become a part of our cultural conversation. It's a part of the language in which we |
| 0:31.0 | speak quotes from the show. I can't say shrimp any other way, because if you know the Golden Girls, |
| 0:36.6 | you know the reference I'm doing. |
| 0:45.0 | Literally, memes, I mean, the popularity of the Golden Girls continues to this day. |
| 0:47.3 | And I can't believe it's been 40 years. |
| 0:53.1 | Now, I have to say, you know, full disclosure, I am a part of the Golden Girls universe because for the past 10 years, I have been co-hosting |
| 0:55.6 | out on the Linai, the only Golden Girls podcast you'll ever need to listen to. |
| 0:59.6 | Thank you very much. |
| 1:01.0 | And so I'm definitely ingrained in the Golden Girls universe. |
| 1:05.1 | And I'm really excited to share with you today a very special conversation that I had with Stan Zimmerman, who wrote |
| 1:12.8 | on the first season of the Golden Girls. |
| 1:14.9 | And we chatted about the legacy of the Golden Girls, why it remains so popular, the impact |
| 1:21.7 | that it had on not only television, but also culture. |
| 1:26.3 | And also, he gives me a little insight on what it was like working with these women back in the day when the show first launched. |
| 1:33.2 | It is a fantastic conversation, and I am just so excited to be able to recognize this wonderful, wonderful anniversary. |
| 1:41.7 | I will be posting this podcast episode both on Newsweek's parting shot, but also on the Out on the Linai, the only Golden Girls podcast you'll ever need to listen to. Thank you very much, feed. And so you can listen to it in both places. So if you're hearing me and at both places, I'm sorry, but you get two doses of me this week. But yeah, this chat is fantastic. I really think you're going to enjoy it. So sit back |
| 2:00.8 | and grab a snack because I will be right back with the great Stan Zimmerman to talk all about |
| 2:05.9 | the 40th anniversary of the Golden Girls. Stan Zimmerman. Hello, my friend. How are you? |
| 2:28.4 | Hi, it's me, Stan. |
| 2:31.1 | You do that a lot, I bet, don't you? |
... |
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